Elevator floor-indicator device



H. D. SMITH ELEVATOR FLOOR INDICATOR DEVICE Marchv 2 19426.

Filed March 3o, 192s 'INI/ENTOR.

A TTORNEY.

Patented-lidar. 2, 1926. Y

may nU'rToN SMITH, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

nnnvn'ron FLOOR-INDICATOR DEVICE.

Application led March 30, 1923. Serial No. 628,941.

To all 'whom it may concem:

Be -it known that I, HENRY DU'rroN SMITH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, .have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in :1n-Elevator Floor-- Indicator Device, asset kforthin the following specification.4

'My invention relates to a floor Indicator device .for elevator cars lwhich will automatically act in a manner to indicate to the Y. operator the number of the floor which he and turnin is approaching, thus enabling theoperator to determine when to shut off the ower so that a suitable stop may be made. his may be accomplished by mechanical or electrical means, or by a combination of both, and by locating part of the mechanism in the overhead. and part lin the car itself, or -by locating it wholly overhead or below, or wholly in the car. I will describe, however, one mechanical device I use, in which the mechanism iswholly 'in the car, and which consists in the new and novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter set forth, and is a' simple and inexpensive devicel for accomplishing the purose. u A vIt has been found that simply painting the numberson the .oor landings to guide the operator is not suicient guide to enable him to make' proper stops, especially on Vhigh speed cars, and with the advent of the so-called mlcrodrive machine and multivoltage control, high speed cars, even in excess of 800 ft. per minute may be expected. With cars-cf that speed the oors are passed so rapidly that itis diliicult for the operator to gauge his shut-off point, and by the use of my invention, especially the device de scribed with the stadia-like dial face, he is enabled to absolutely determine his position at all points in the hatchway, and to shut off 'his power at proper points to make accurate stops, 'thereby eliminatin the waste and'delay incident to a repeated shutting oli on ofthe power, familiarly l' lmown as jockeying, order to reach'a proper level. Y-

A further object of my lnventlon 1s to provide a device adapted to accom lish these*- results, having an easily adjustab e connection between the indicator and the dial face by friction means 'or otherwise, so that any slight creepingV or slip in the driving mechanism of the device itself maybe readily compensated and corrected by turning the indicator about the` face of the dial manually, to correspond with any position in which the car may be at that time in the hatchway, and 'to provide plugs or protrusions extending from the face of the dial to engage the indicator pointer at the upper and lower limits of travel in the eventV of such creeping, and automatically cause the indicator pointer to return to a position corresponding accurately with thc position of the car in the'ha-tchway.

It is a further object of my invention to place this signal device in thc car so that the operator can observe it at the same time he observes his stop signals, andwith my de-A vice it would be possible to entirely close the car, having a gate which would shut ofi' a view of the landings and the floor numerals on the landings, as same would not be necessary. This would result in obtaining much better schedules because the operator would be unable to see any passengers through the glass doors, as at present, and hence would not stop and run back 'to pick them up, although they-had given no signal, and thereby cause delay in service, but would on the contrary be compelled to run entirely on signals. v

Referring to the accompanying drawing,

formin Va part of this specification, like letters re er to like parts in all the different vlews. Y

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic cross-section through the car and -type of signal device I have selected to illustrate myl invention,

vshowing' the means of connecting the device to the car.

Figure 2 is an end elevation in semi-crossseetion of this type of deviceitself, with the cover removed.

Figure 3 is aside elevation of the friction driving mechanism.

Figure 4 is a front elevation of a segment of a preferred embodiment of a stadia-like dial face for the device..

The car C in Figure l may be of any approved construction, and the dial D of my device is mounted inside the car in the panel thereof, either elevated or flush with the sldes of the panel. I have shown it in my drawing in a non-flush mounting.- f I I 'prefer to construct Ithe face of the dial D so that it will resemble the familiar stadia of enabling the eye to determine quickly no rulings in surveying, which have the effect unsA in my device I prefer to attachto its driv-- and readily any point of indication, as for example in Figure'4 it is immediately seen that the indicator I shows that the car is just beyond the half-way point and not quite lto the'/Sths point ofthe distance be- .ing axle Y by means of the friction plug F,

so that should any creeping or slipping occur in the driving portion of the device vit may be readily compensatedl for by the adjustment of this friction plug, or by the pointer engaging the protrusions Pf or P2 at thel u per or lower limits of travel, in the event o any creeping, and thereby automatically adjusting itself. As will. immediately appear from the drawing, the, indicator I,

is driven by means of the action of the friction of the rope'R on the sheaves S1, S2 :und S3, particularly the sheave S1 mounted on "the-bracket X which functions to rotate the indicator by means of the mechanical advantage obtained with the two spur gearreductions Gr, G1,- Gr2 and Gs, the rope R being heldin tension by means of the weicht W at 'the bottom of the hatcliway, an

' readily be seen that as the car goes up or dicator Ifabout the face of the dial D. It

down the hatchway -the traction caused by the bending of the rope R about the sheaves `tate proportionately tothe travel of the ca i` and cause a corresponding rotation of the inwill be seen that I have constructed an indicator signal device by means of which, and .in an entirely automatic manner,A the operan 'win S2 and S3v will cause the sheave S1 to rotor may observe his exact position in the hatchway, and therefore be in a sition to shut off the power at a predetermined point to enable him to make accurate stops. to be understood of course that I am not conmeans described hereinl for accomplishing the objects of my invention as disclosed, but that it is a preferred embodiment.

What I desire to secure by U. Patent is:

1. In an elevator floor indicator device the combination of a driving rope weighted and suspended in the hat'chwa with a bracket mounted on anelevator ca supporting sheaves adapted to frictionally drive an operating sheave, a double set of reduction spur gearing, an indicator pointer shaft and an indicator pointer adjustably connected therewith visible from within said cab, a dial indicator face containing floor numbers and stadia-like segmentations marked thereen likewise visible from witliin'said cab and with pointer eng'ging protrusions at both ends 'of travel of said dial indicator, all

S. Letters l It is I '45 ned to the particular mechanical device or substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefoi'e set forth.

2.'In van elevator floor indicator device,

lthe combination of a driving cable suspended in the liatchway in engagement with driving means attachedto an elevator cab, said driving means operating 'through a mechanical advantage to cause a dial indicator with floor lnumbers mounted in and' visible from Withinl said cab to operate, all substantially as and-for the purposes hereinbeforeset forth.

In witness whereof I hereunto sign my n name this 23rd day of March, 1923.

. H. DUTTON SMITH. 

